Nuclear Energy Agency Online Bulletin

Covers new material for January 2007:

NEA publications

Publications on sale can be ordered at the OECD bookshop: www.oecd.org/scripts/publications/bookshop/redirect.asp.

Free publications are available at www.oecd-nea.org/pub/webpubs/. Paper copies may be requested by sending an e-mail to neapub@oecd-nea.org.

Nuclear safety

The NEA will hold a workshop on the Transparency of Nuclear Regulatory Activities on
22-24 May 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The main purpose of the workshop will be to provide the staff of nuclear regulatory organisations the opportunity to share best practices and discuss developments in the area of nuclear regulatory communication with the public. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/nsd/workshops/transparency/.

An NEA workshop on Fuel Cycle Safety: Past, Present and Future will be held on 16-18 October 2007 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. The workshop will focus on the following three topics: legacy waste concerns (including facilities and waste); the reprocessing of nuclear fuel and the recycling of nuclear waste; and ensuring the safety of current and new fuel cycle facilities. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/nsd/workshops/fcsafety/.

Radioactive waste management

The NEA held a symposium on Safety Cases for the Deep Disposal of Radioactive Waste: Where Do We Stand? on 23-25 January 2007 in Paris, France. A safety case is a collection of arguments, at a given stage of repository development, in support of the long-term safety of the repository. Symposium participants shared practical experiences of developing the arguments that make up a contemporary safety case for a radioactive waste repository. The symposium included sessions on how to prepare for, develop and document a safety case at both the technical and managerial levels. Participants from waste management agencies, regulatory organisations and community stakeholders also shared their expectations of how a safety case should be communicated, evaluated and used in the decision-making processes for radioactive waste disposal. The full symposium proceedings are currently in preparation. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/safety_case/

Radiological protection

The NEA Expert Group on Occupational Exposure met for the first time on 9-10 January 2007 at NEA headquarters. During the meeting the group identified three policy areas it plans to explore: occupational radiological protection, especially promoting safety culture and as low as reasonably possible radiation exposure in new and growing industries; operational and regulatory experience, in particular the use of existing databases and the exchange of experience with sectors beyond those implicated in the nuclear fuel cycle; and how to implement the new International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations on dose constraints and collective dose. More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/rp/egoe.html.

Data Bank

Nuclear data services

The new version of the Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B-VII.0), of nuclear data for advanced nuclear science and technology applications is now available on the NEA website. Co-operatively developed by the NEA Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) and the US Cross-Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG), the library contains data primarily for reactions with incident neutrons, protons and photons for almost 400 isotopes. The nuclear data can be retrieved at www.oecd-nea.org/dbdata/eva/.

Computer program services

A page listing all new programs in the last 12 months can be found at: www.oecd-nea.org/dbprog/cpsnew.html. Detailed news concerning the computer program service is available at: www.oecd-nea.org/dbprog/Newsletter/Whatsnew.htm.

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